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J Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to J Olsen.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Determination of the oxidative burst chemiluminescent response of avian and murine-derived macrophages versus corresponding cell lines in relation to stimulation with Salmonella serotypes.

In contrast to mammalian systems, avian species lack a resident or harvestable macrophage population in the abdominal exudate. Peritoneal macrophages in the chicken can be elicited if an inflammatory agent such as sephadex is injected. This study examines the kinetics of different macrophage populations, derived by different methods of isolation and from different hosts, with respect to the elicited oxidative burst upon infection with host-adapted Salmonella serotypes. The nature of the oxidative burst elicited by murine and avian-derived and cell line macrophages was determined after stimulation with phorbol myristate (PMA), zymosan A, and Salmonella serotypes. Both murine and chicken peritoneal macrophages, chicken blood monocytes and corresponding cell lines, J774A.1 and HD-11, were unable to produce a detectable chemiluminescent (CL) response after interaction with Salmonella using the luminescent probe luminol. However, both PMA and zymosan A induced a CL response in all cell types, with PMA eliciting a higher and earlier peak response (pkH) than zymosan A. Lucigenin-enhanced CL in both murine and chicken macrophages was achieved with PMA, zymosan A and Salmonella serotypes. In this case, zymosan A induced higher responses than PMA. In the peritoneal macrophages of both hosts, there were no significant differences in the oxidative burst induced by the different Salmonella serotypes. However, the J774A.1 (murine) cells demonstrated significant differences, with S. enterica serotype Choleraesuis (S. choleraesuis and S. gallinarum producing the highest response. In the HD-11 (chicken) cells, S. choleraesuis and S. dublin elicited the higher CL. With both cell lines, S. abortusovis failed to induce an appreciable CL response. In these experiments it was demonstrated that oxidative burst was not detectable in monocytes/macrophage populations using luminol, which suggests a link to the lack of a myeloperoxidase system in these cells. Lucigenin-enhanced CL appeared independent from the myeloperoxidase system, indicating production of another oxidative species compared with luminol. No discernable effect of host specificity with regard to Salmonella serotype and respective host was seen in host-derived or cell line macrophages, and cell line macrophages displayed altered functional characteristics with regard to oxidative burst in comparison with their primary counterparts.

Acridines↗
PubMed2001

Genetic variation in mRNA coding sequences of highly conserved genes.

The frequency and distribution of genetic polymorphism in the human genome is a question of major importance. We have studied this in highly conserved genes, which encode crucial functions such as DNA replication, mRNA transcription, and translation. Evolutionary comparisons suggest that these genes are under particularly strong selective pressure, and their frequency of nucleotide sequence polymorphism would be expected to represent a minimum estimate for sequence variation throughout the genome. We have analyzed the complete coding sequence and the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of 22 human genes, most of which have homologs in all cellular organisms and all of which are at least 25% amino acid identical to homologs in yeast. Comparisons with similar studies of less conserved human disease genes indicate that 1) evolutionarily conserved genes are, on average, less polymorphic than disease related genes; 2) the difference in polymorphism levels is attributable almost entirely to reduced levels of variation in protein coding sequences, whereas noncoding sequences have similar levels of polymorphism; and 3) the character of polymorphism, in terms of the spectrum and frequency of mutational changes, is similar.

Cell Line↗
PubMed2001

[Did the changed guidelines on alcohol and pregnancy by the National Board of Health and Welfare change alcohol consumption of pregnant women?].

BACKGROUND: In March 1999, the National Board of Health changed its recommendations about alcohol drinking in pregnancy. A "No drinking" policy was changed to three recommendations: 1. Avoid, as far as possible, alcohol in pregnancy; 2. Never take more than one drink a day; and 3. Do not drink alcohol every day. AIM: By means of data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, to monitor changes in pregnant women's reporting of alcohol drinking before and after the change in policy. METHODS: From October 1, 1997, to September 30, 1999, a total of 30,899 pregnant women were interviewed by the end of first trimester. Information on alcohol intake reported among women interviewed from July 1, to September 30, 1998 was compared with the same information obtained from interviews completed in the same months in 1999. RESULTS: Overall, there were no changes in mean alcohol intake in the two periods. Hence, the mean intake was 0.6 drinks per week in the period before and 0.7 drinks per week in the period after introduction of the recommendations. The proportion of women drinking more than two drinks per week was 6.4% before vs 7.4% after the new and less restrictive recommendations (p = 0.12). The proportion of women having one or more binge episode (e.g. drinking five or more drink at one occasion) was 26.7 vs 27.4 (p = 0.65). CONCLUSION: The study showed no significant changes in drinking habits among Danish pregnant women after relaxation of the guidelines for sensible drinking during pregnancy.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2001

[Serious life events and congenital malformations. A national study with a complete follow-up].

INTRODUCTION: Emotional stress during organogenesis could, in theory, cause congenital malformations by increasing the level of cortisone, but documentation is lacking. We undertook a follow-up study to test the hypothesis that psychosocial stress increases the prevalence of malformations, in particular malformations of the cranial neural crest. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We defined serious life events as the death or first hospital admission for cancer or acute myocardial infarction of partners or children. All women exposed to severe life events during and up to 16 months before pregnancy in the period 1980 to 1992 were identified by means of five national registers. We studied 3560 exposed pregnancies and randomly selected 20,299 "not-exposed" pregnancies as the control cohort. RESULTS: Women exposed to severe life events gave birth to offspring with an increased prevalence of cranial neural crest malformations, at an adjusted odds ratio of 1.54; 95% CI (1.05-2.27). For other malformations the adjusted odds ratio was 1.14-95% CI (0.94-1.42). Women exposed in two consecutive pregnancies had a higher odds ratio for cranial neural crest malformations, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.99; 95% CI (1.06-8.43). Death of an older child during the first trimester was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of cranial neural crest malformations in the offspring of 4.75; 95% CI (1.63-13.78). Unexpected death of a child during the first trimester was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 8.36 in the offspring, 95% CI (2.41-28.99) for cranial neural crest malformations and 3.64, 95% CI (1.29-10.32) for other kinds of malformations. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These findings support the hypothesis that severe emotional stress during pregnancy, especially stress related to the death of a child, may cause congenital malformations, particularly those of the cranial neural crest.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Cellular telephones and cancer--a nationwide cohort study in Denmark.

BACKGROUND: Use of cellular telephones is increasing exponentially and has become part of everyday life. Concerns about possible carcinogenic effects of radiofrequency signals have been raised, although they are based on limited scientific evidence. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of cancer incidence was conducted in Denmark of all users of cellular telephones during the period from 1982 through 1995. Subscriber lists from the two Danish operating companies identified 420 095 cellular telephone users. Cancer incidence was determined by linkage with the Danish Cancer Registry. All statistical tests are two-sided. RESULTS: Overall, 3391 cancers were observed with 3825 expected, yielding a significantly decreased standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.86 to 0.92). A substantial proportion of this decreased risk was attributed to deficits of lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers. No excesses were observed for cancers of the brain or nervous system (SIR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.81 to 1.12) or of the salivary gland (SIR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.29 to 1.49) or for leukemia (SIR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.78-1.21), cancers of a priori interest. Risk for these cancers also did not vary by duration of cellular telephone use, time since first subscription, age at first subscription, or type of cellular telephone (analogue or digital). Analysis of brain and nervous system tumors showed no statistically significant SIRs for any subtype or anatomic location. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this investigation, the first nationwide cancer incidence study of cellular phone users, do not support the hypothesis of an association between use of these telephones and tumors of the brain or salivary gland, leukemia, or other cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A population-based case-control teratologic study of nalidixic acid.

OBJECTIVE: Quinolones, mainly nalidixic acid, are frequently used in Hungary to treat bacterial infections in pregnant women, but so far no controlled epidemiological studies of congenital abnormalities among infants born to women treated with nalidixic acid during pregnancy have been reported. METHODS: The analysis of oral nalidixic acid use during pregnancy in the mothers of cases with congenital abnormalities and in their matched population controls without congenital abnormality was carried out in the population-based dataset of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities between 1980 and 1996. The study included 22865 women who had newborns or fetuses with congenital abnormalities, and 38151 pregnant women who had newborn infants without any defects (controls). RESULTS: In the case group, 242 (1.1%) and in the control group, 377 (1.0%) pregnant women were treated with nalidixic acid (crude OR: 1.1 with 95% CI: 0.9-1.3). Seventeen different congenital abnormality groups were evaluated and a higher prevalence of pyloric stenosis was found in seven case infants born to mothers who received nalidixic acid treatment during the last months of pregnancy (adjusted OR: 11.0 with 95% CI: 1.3-91.4). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with nalidixic acid during pregnancy may increase the risk of pyloric stenosis, though the chance effects cannot be excluded.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Nitrofurantoin and congenital abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: To study human teratogenic potential of oral nitrofurantoin treatment during pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pair analysis of cases with congenital abnormalities and matched population controls in the population-based dataset of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, 1980-1996. RESULTS: Of 38,151 pregnant women who had newborn infants without any congenital abnormalities (population control group), 774 (3.4%); of 22,865 case pregnant women who had newborns or fetuses with congenital abnormalities, 1079 (2.8%) and of 812 pregnant women who had newborns or fetuses with Down's syndrome (patient controls), 23 (2.8%) pregnant women were treated with nitrofurantoin. The above differences between population controls and cases may be connected with recall bias, because the case-control pair analysis did not indicate a teratogenic potential of nitrofurantoin use during the second and the third months of gestation, i.e. in the critical period for major congenital abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Treatment with nitrofurantoin during pregnancy does not present detectable teratogenic risk to the fetus.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Augmentin treatment during pregnancy and the prevalence of congenital abnormalities: a population-based case-control teratologic study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the human teratogenic potential of augmentin (amoxicillin+clavulanic acid) treatment during pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pair analysis of cases with different congenital abnormalities and their matched controls in the population-based dataset of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, between 1991 and 1996. RESULTS: The case group included 6935 pregnant women who had offspring with congenital abnormalities, while the control group consisted of 10,238 pregnant women who had babies without any defects. The number (and rate) of pregnant women with augmentin treatment was 52 (0.75%) and 56 (0.55%) in the case and control groups, respectively (crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.4, 0.9-2.0). The comparison of augmentin treatments during the second-third months of pregnancy (i.e. in the critical period for most major congenital abnormalities) in case-control pairs did not show a higher use of augmentin in any congenital abnormality group. CONCLUSION: Augmentin treatment of pregnant women in usual therapeutic doses is unlikely to increase the risk of congenital abnormalities in newborn infants. However, the number of cases and controls was limited, therefore, further multicenter-multinational studies are needed for the final risk assessment.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Are alcohol intake and smoking associated with mycosis fungoides? A European multicentre case-control study.

The incidence of mycosis fungoides (MF) is low, and the aetiology of the disease is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether wine consumption protects against the disease and whether smoking constitutes a risk factor. This paper is part of the European Rare Cancers Study that tries to determine the risk factors for seven selective rare cancers, including mycosis fungoides, involved in the development of cancer. A multicentre case-control study was conducted in six European countries. Only incident cases with confirmed histology were included in the analysis which include a total of 76 cases of MF and 2899 controls. Wine intake had no protective effect; on the contrary the consumption of more than 24 g of alcohol per day was associated with a high risk of MF (odds ratio (OR)=3.02, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.34-6.79), after adjusting for centre, country, age, sex and education. There was a dose-dependent increase in the risk of MF with increased smoking habits, albeit the observed trend was not statistically significant. A combined exposure to high tobacco and alcohol use yielded a significantly increased risk factor for MF (P=0.0073). Alcohol intake was associated with MF.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Indicators of fetal growth and infectious disease in childhood--a birth cohort with hospitalization as outcome.

We evaluated the association between indicators of fetal growth and hospitalization with infectious disease during childhood in a cohort of 10,400 newborns. The cohort was based on children born to mothers who at about 36 weeks of gestation attended the midwife centres in Odense and Aalborg, Denmark for a routine examination. Women were recruited to the study from April 1984 to April 1987. After linkage with the National Hospital Registry, the first hospitalization with infectious disease from 6 months up to 12 years of age was identified. The cumulative incidence of hospitalization with infectious disease during follow-up was 18.9%. Preterm birth was associated with an increased risk of being hospitalized with infections during childhood (incidence rate ratio: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.33-2.10); low birth weight had a similar association, but only in preterm birth. Reduced birth length related to the head was correlated with an increased risk of hospitalization with infections. The effect of gestational age was mainly seen in the period close to the time of birth, but the children who were short at birth appeared to remain at increased risk throughout the age interval under analysis. In conclusion, the study suggests that preterm birth was the main factor underlying the association between low birth weight and the increased risk of hospitalization with infectious disease during childhood. However, it could not explain the increased risk in children who were short at birth.

Child↗
PubMed2001

Induced abortion and placenta complications in the subsequent pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: To study the risk of placenta complications following an induced abortion as a function of the interpregnancy interval. METHODS: This study is based on three Danish national registries; the Medical Birth Registry, the Hospital Discharge Registry, and the Induced Abortion Registry. All primigravida women from 1980 to 1982 were identified in these three registries. A total of 15,727 women who terminated the pregnancy with a first trimester induced abortion were selected to the abortion cohort, and 46,026 women who did not terminate the pregnancy with an induced abortion constituted the control cohort. By register linkage all subsequent pregnancies were identified from 1980 to 1994. Only women who had a non-terminated pregnancy following the index pregnancy were selected to the study. Placenta complications were identified using either the Hospital Discharge Registry ICD-8 codes or the Medical Birth Registry records. RESULTS: A slightly higher risk of placenta complications following an abortion was found. Retained placenta occurred more frequently in women with one, two or more previous abortions, compared with women without any previous abortion of similar gravidity. Adjusting for maternal age and residence at time of pregnancy, the interpregnancy interval, and the number of previous miscarriages (control cohort only), the odds ratios of retained placenta in deliveries of singleton live births in women with one previous abortion was 1.17 (95%CI=1.02-1.35), and for women with two or more previous abortions it was 1.68 (95%CI=1.23-2.30), respectively, compared with the control cohort of similar gravidity. Only for women who had one abortion did the results follow the predicted pattern of a higher risk of retained placenta after a short pregnancy interval. No association with placenta previa was seen. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a positive association between abortions and retained placenta in subsequent singleton live births, but the association was weak and confounding cannot be ruled out.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2001

Population-based case control study of the safety of sulfasalazine use during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: We studied the human teratogenic risk of sulfasalazine because this drug interferes with folate metabolism. METHODS: Case control study within the Hungarian Case Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities, 1980-1996; based on 22 865 new-born infants or foetuses with congenital abnormalities, and 38 151 babies without any detected congenital abnormalities (control group). RESULTS: Seventeen pregnant women (0.07%) were treated with sulfasalazine in the case group, and 26 (0.07%) in the control group. The overall adjusted adds ratio of congenital abnormalities after sulfasalazine treatment was odds ratio = 1.2 (95% confidence interval: 0.6-2.1). None of the analyses indicated any significant increased prevalence of selected congenital abnormalities among the exposed compared with the not exposed. CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant increased prevalence of selected congenital abnormalities in the children of women treated with sulfasalazine during pregnancy. However, the amount of information is limited and additional data are needed to rule out a teratogenic effect.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed2001

Mortality and causes of death in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

To evaluate the mortality and causes of death in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), we identified 1324 cases of MGUS in the period 1978-93 in North Jutland County, Denmark. Data on mortality were obtained by record linkage to the Danish Death Registry. There were 868 deaths in the MGUS cohort during 7785 years of follow-up vs. 409.6 expected, giving a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 2.1 (95% confidence interval 2.0-2.3). Malignant transformation was the cause of death in 97 patients vs. 4.9 expected, yielding a SMR of 20.0 (16.2-24.4), which explained about 20% of the excess mortality in the cohort. The mortality was increased for several other malignant and non-malignant causes of death during the first 4 years of follow-up. For late follow-up, 5-18 years after detection of the M-component, the overall SMR was 1.7 (1.5-1.9), and malignant transformation was the only cause of death with a substantial increase of SMR. Although malignant transformation is an important cause of death in MGUS patients, it did not entirely explain the increased mortality. MGUS patients often suffer from coexisting clinical conditions that increase the mortality, especially during the first years after detection of the M-component.

Bronchitis↗
PubMed2001

Identification of biological/biochemical marker(s) for preterm delivery.

Fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity rates are strongly associated with gestational age for delivery: the risk for poor outcome increases as gestational age decreases. Attempts to predict preterm delivery (PTD, spontaneous delivery before 37 weeks' gestation) have been largely unsuccessful, and rates of PTD have not improved in recent decades. More recently, the reported associations between infections in pregnancy and PTD suggest preventive initiatives that could be taken. The overall objective of the current study is to assess whether specific markers of infection (primarily interleukin (IL) 1beta, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, IL-6, and IL-10) obtained from maternal blood during pregnancy, alone or in combination with other risk factors for PTD, permit identification of women at risk for spontaneous PTD. To achieve this objective, data are obtained from two Danish prospective cohort studies involving serial collection of maternal blood samples, newborn cord blood samples, and relevant confounders and other risk factors for PTD. The first study consists of a completed Danish regional cohort of 3000 pregnant women enrolled in a study of microbiological causes of PTD, upon which a nested case-control study of PTD in 84 cases and 400 controls has been performed. The second study is a nested case-control study of 675 PTD cases (equally divided into three gestational age categories of 24-29 weeks' gestation, 30-33 weeks' gestation, and 34-36 weeks' gestation) and 675 controls drawn from the ongoing Danish National Birth Cohort study of 100 000 pregnant women enrolled during 1997-2001. The second study will provide the opportunity to refine and retest hypotheses from the first study, as well as to explore new hypotheses. Our preliminary work suggests that a single predictive marker effectively accounting for a large proportion of PTD is unlikely to be found. Rather, a search for multiple markers indicative of the multifactorial aetiology of PTD is likely to be more successful. Knowledge gained from the proposed studies will be implemented in a third, clinical intervention study against PTD. The first phase of the clinical intervention study will be to establish a risk-assessment model based on the "best" combination of biological/biochemical measures and other factors associated with PTD in order to identify pregnant women at very high risk of PTD. The second phase will be to apply an intervention model of tailored obstetric care to the very high-risk pregnant women for PTD identified in phase one. The intervention will be carried out against each specific risk factor associated with PTD identified for the individual. The aim is to reduce the risk for PTD attributed to the combination of risk factors included in the clinical intervention study.

Adult↗